52 weeks

Happy New Year folks! 

We survived the apocolypse a year ago and made #hashtags a way to converse last year. Most importantly, we got the word 'selfie' into Oxford dictionary!

And now we start a new year by making typical resolutions and it seems as though the universal resolution for the year is 'Go to gym'. I'm going to be Grumpy Cat here and tell you one word- NO. That didn't happen last year, the year before that and all the years before that. And it's never going to happen in the near future. Booyah!

Nevertheless, best of luck to you guys!

As for me, this year I decided not to make any resolutions but instead follow a challenge on the internet. 52 weeks. In these 52 weeks of the year, I've challenged myself to do 52 DIY projects, cook/prepare 52 dishes and write 52 stories. And if I can complete this challenge, at the end of the year I will treat myself to a lavish holiday in whichever country I feel like travelling to. 

Without all the grumpiness, here's wishing you and myself a successful year ahead!   

Sunayana Sen

Har Har Mahadev!

Late last month Amish Tripathi released his last book in the Shiva Trilogy- The Oath of the Vayuputras - and a whole bunch of book lovers in my office went into a frenzy. I didn't quite understand it & quite frankly I was agitated that I didn't know about this famous book when everybody else did! I then looked it up online & decided that I want to read it too. I'm immensely fond of mythology so I took to the book immediately, yet grudgingly so since I knew it was only fiction. But some parts of the book either brought tears to my eyes, or answered an impending question in my head, or left me a tad bit wiser. Sorry Paulo Coelho, your books didn't impact me as much!

Here's an excerpt of the trilogy that I liked most and brought tears to my eyes:

A resounding roar arose from the Suryavanshis. They were led by the Mahadev. The God of Gods. The Chandravanshis did not stand a chance.

"But I am not the only one!" 

 A shocked silence descended on the Surayavanshis. What did the Mahadev mean? He is not the only one? Do the Chandravanshis have a god too?

 "I am not the only one! For I see a hundred thousand Mahadevs in front of me! I see a hundred thousand men willing to battle evil! I see a hundred thousand men capable of destroying evil!"

 The stunned Suryavanshis gaped at their Neelkanth as the import of his words permeated their minds. They dared not ask the question: Are we gods?

   Shiva had the answer: "Har Ek Hai Mahadev!" 

The Meluhans stood astounded. Every single one a Mahadev?  

"Har Har Mahadev?" bellowed Shiva. 

The Meluhans roared. All of us are Mahadevs! 

Pure primal energy coursed through the veins of each Suryanvanshi. They were gods! It didn't matter that the Chndravanshis outnumbered them ten to one. They were gods! Even if the evil Chandravanshis outnumbered them a thousand to one, victory was assured. They were gods! 

"Har Har Mahadev!" cried the Suryavanshi army.

This excerpt had such a profound effect on me and I felt empowered! It was as if I was in that army and I was being spoken to. I still have no idea why this touched me so. Maybe it's a a piece of knowledge that will be used later.

Another beautiful line in The Secret of the Nagas that touched me was:

There is a god in every single one of us. And there is evil in every single one of us. The true battle between good and evil is fought within.

And somewhere later in the book it is said because there's both good an evil in us it takes strength to choose the good. The weak would choose evil. To me this meant that when I have to make a choice, I have to be brutal on my self and choose what's good for most that are involved otherwise I'm weak and that's something I can't live with.

For those who are looking for self-realization and like reading, do read these books. Well written, addictive and helpful. May have the answers to your questions.

Sunayana Sen

Inch-by-Inch

This is one of my favorite speeches EVER! In the most difficult times, this is what I listen too. So far it's this that keeps me going. 

From the movie- 'Any Given Sunday' starring Al Pacino.

I don't know what to say really; three minutes to the biggest battle of our professional lives......all comes down to today.

Either we heal as a team or we're gonna crumble; inch by inch, play by play 'till we're finished.

We're in hell right now gentlemen, believe me. 

And we can stay here and get the shit kicked out of us, or...we can fight our way back, into the light. We can climb out of hell.

One inch at a time.

Now I can't do it for you, i'm too old. I look around, I see these young faces and I think..... I mean I made every wrong choice a middle aged man can make.

I pissed away all my money, believe it or not.

I chased off anyone who's ever loved me.

And lately I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror.

You know....when you get old in life, things get taken from you....that's part of life.

But you only learn that.....when you start losing stuff.

You find out life's a game of inches.

So is football.

Because in either game- life or football- the margin for error is so small...I mean....

One half a step too late or too early and you dont quite make it,

One half second too slow, too fast, you dont quite catch it.

The inches we need are everywhere around us.

They're in every break of the game, every minute, every second.

On this team we fight for that inch.

On this team we tear ourselves and everyone around us to pieces for that inch.

Claw with our fingernails for that inch.

Because we know when we add up all those inches, thats gonna make the f***ing difference between winnin & losing,

between living and dying.

i'll tell you this......

In any fight it's the guy who's willing to die who's gonna win that inch.

And I know that if i'm gonna have any life anymore it's because im still willing to fight & die for that inch.

Because that's what living is. The 6 inches in front of your face.

Now I can't make you do it.

You gotta look at the guy next to you, look into his eyes. Now I think you're gonna see a guy who'll go that inch with you.....

You're gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows when it comes to it, you're gonna do the same for him.

That's a team gentlemen.

And either we heal now as a team or we will die as individuals.

That's football guys. That's all it is.

Now.....what are you gonna do?

Sunayana Sen